Hard Times
by dendragon14
Summary: After his mother is institutionalized for going off her medication again, the care of his five siblings are placed into Elijah's capable hands. He struggles to balance home life with work life. All he wants is for his mother to make a quick recovery. The longer he stays, he begins to notice how different his family seems . This is his chance to mend the weakened bonds.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: After his mother is institutionalized for going off her medication again, the care of his five younger siblings is placed into Elijah's capable hands. He struggles to balance family with work and hopes his mother will make a quick recovery. But the longer he stays, he begins to notice that his family has changed a great deal since he left for a higher education and this is his one chance to reconnect with them.**

Elijah Mikaelson had just got back from a long, tedious appointment with a Mrs. Gilbert who was filing for divorce. He had always found that divorce cases were always drawn out longer than necessary, but they made good money. Although he enjoyed his work as a lawyer, he always found that it could be rather frustrating. But he was always capable of handling frustrating situations.

Elijah seated himself in his office chair and sighed heavily. The day was only half over, and he still had two more appointments to deal with; a battle for custody, and a dispute over matrimonial property. It was going to be another wearisome day. He had just settled down into some paperwork when his assistant, Alaric Saltzmann came in.  
"Was there something you wanted, Alaric?"  
"It's a good thing you're back; I would have called you, but I didn't want to interrupt your case. Someone named Henrik phoned your office about half an hour ago.  
He said you needed to come home immediately."

At the mention of his youngest brother's name, he froze. Whenever he heard from my family, it was never good news. Besides holidays and birthdays, Elijah rarely spoke to or saw his family; work always kept him busy. But this sudden phone call from Henrik didn't sound good. Elijah got out of his chair and headed towards the door.  
"Cancel the rest of my appointments for the day, Alaric," Elijah said, grabbing his briefcase and coat. "I'll probably be gone the rest of the day."  
As he got in his car and began the two hour drive towards his house, he could only wonder and worry about what had happened. If they needed him there, then whatever was going on was something beyond his siblings could manage. Whatever it was, he hoped that nobody was injured; medical bills were the last thing his family needed. His family, although they had medical insurance, had a long record of broken bones and lacerations that required stitching; their father Mikael was to thank for that.

No one had phoned him on his cell phone, so whatever the situation was, it wasn't getting out of hand too quickly. But things could get out of hand unusually fast. The sudden worry that he felt in his stomach made him increase his speed in an eagerness to get to his mother's house.  
When Elijah pulled up in front of his childhood home, immediately he could tell that there was something wrong. His youngest brother, Henrik, and his sister, Rebekah, were out on the lawn, both of them looking very worried. He turned the engine off and got out of the car, slamming the door. His siblings jumped at the sudden noise and turned towards the sound. At the sight of him both cried his name and raced towards him, embracing him tightly. As they pulled out of the hug, both of them began to talk, their words overlapping each other's.

"One at a time," he said calmly, silencing them both. He turned to his brother and asked, "What's the matter? Why did you call, Henrik?"  
Henrik pointed towards the house and turned back to Elijah.  
"Mum's gone off her medication again and she's locked herself in her room. Finn and Nik have been trying to coax her out of there for nearly an hour."  
"She _just_ went off her medications," he asked, waiting for clarification. The last time his mother had went off her medications, none of them had found out until a week after she stopped taking them; her hallucinations hadn't returned that time. But if her hallucinations were back, she had probably been off them longer than before and they had just noticed mother's strange behaviour.

"We don't know how long she's been off them," Henrik declared, "We think maybe a few weeks, but none of us are sure."  
"We didn't want to call the police," Rebekah exclaimed, "That's why we called you first. Mum's been hallucinating monsters and she has Kol locked in her room with her. Earlier on, she sounded very hostile and we…" Rebekah petered off in her sentence as she turned to glance back at the house worriedly. She glanced back him, her eyes pleading with him. "You should try and talk to her, Elijah; she always listens to you." Henrik nodded encouragingly and began to drag Elijah by the hand towards the house.

The three of them paraded up the staircase and down the hall to the very last door on the right hand side. Niklaus and Finn stood in front of the door, both of them looking perplexed. At the sight of Elijah, both of them drew back from the door and straightened up.  
"You came," Niklaus said, sounding surprised.  
"Is the door locked?" he asked, deciding to get down to the heart of the matter.  
Finn shook his head. "She's got something barricading the door. We've tried to push our way in, but whatever's against the door seems pretty heavy." Elijah knocked on the door, waiting for a response. When none came, he knocked again.  
"Mother," he called out, waiting for a response. He heard some scuffling on the other side of the door, but no words. "Mother, it's Elijah, may I come in."

"Elijah," she repeated, "Is it really you, darling?"  
"Yes, may I come in?"  
There was a loud scraping against the floor as they heard her move the furniture out of the way. The bedroom door opened up a crack and Elijah saw his mother, Esther, peek outside suspiciously. She glanced up at him and he could see her physically relax.  
"Come in, come in," she said, opening the door wide enough for him to slide in. Once he was in, she locked the door and barricaded it with the vanity stool. Esther turned back to him and smiled brightly.  
"I missed you," she exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Elijah welcomed his mother's embrace and returned the gesture.  
"I've missed you too," he replied softly, "I know that I haven't visited much."

"You should visit more, the others miss you." Since that she was bringing up the topic of his siblings, he decided to ask, "Where's Kol?"  
"He's in a safe place," Esther muttered, "A safe place where those evil _things_ cannot harm my baby boy." Glancing around the room, Elijah assumed she meant that Kol was in the bathroom; it had a lock on the door. He started towards the bathroom door, intent on knocking to make sure he was alright.  
"What are you doing," his mother asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm just making sure that he's not hurt-"  
"Hurt," Esther gasped, seeming rather offended. "I would never _hurt _my own children. I put him in there for his own safety-so those monsters can't get to him." He quickly devised some way to ease her nerves that none of them were going to be harmed.  
"Let me take Kol and the others out of the house-that way none of the monsters can hurt them," he suggested. His mother eyed him suspiciously and wrapped her arms around herself. Elijah could see that she was debating with herself as she began to mutter incoherently.

"Mother, you said that these monsters were trying to hurt Kol and the others. If I take them away from here, the monsters can't hurt them. You want them to be safe, don't you?" Esther twined her hair anxiously around her finger and hesitantly nodded. She clutched his hands tightly, her eyes silently pleading with him.  
"You'll take good care of them, won't you?" Elijah nodded, clasping his mother's hands tightly, her eyes wet with tears.

"I'll do my absolute best to look after them, I promise." Seeming satisfied with his answer, Esther released his hands and headed over to the master bathroom door. She pulled a key out from the bathrobe she wore and unlocked the door. Kol was seated on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Noticing that the door was opened, he jumped to his feet and exited the bathroom.  
"Go with your brother," she stated, ushering Kol towards him. Kol looked confused at Elijah's presence but didn't say anything. Elijah grabbed Kol by the upper arm and propelled him towards the bedroom door. Esther hesitated by the door and pulled Kol into a tight embrace before reluctantly removing the vanity stool that held the door closed.

Elijah pushed Kol through the door and followed, pulling the door closed behind him. His siblings all had looks of surprise.  
"Come on," he said, addressing them all, "Get away from the door." He made his way downstairs and outside onto the lawn. He breathed in the crisp autumn air and pinched the bridge of his nose, deciding what to do. He loved his mother, but she was ill and he knew that she needed help; a hospital was the best place for her. Reluctantly, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, _what is your emergency,"_ the operator asked.  
"I need an ambulance to 44 West Meadow Street. My mother is a paranoid schizophrenic and she's gone off her medication again and she's been hallucinating. I think that she may be a danger to herself."  
"_May I have your name, sir?"  
_ "Elijah Mikaelson," he replied curtly.  
_"The ambulance should be there within fifteen to twenty minutes."  
_

* * *

The ambulance came within the time that the emergency response had specified. The ambulance pulled up in front of the house and two men dressed in gray paramedic uniforms hoped down from the back. Elijah directed them into the house and to his mother's room, where they cautiously entered, shutting the door behind them. His siblings had been lingering in the upstairs hall, and were all staring at him, silent.  
"What are you _doing_," Finn demanded, breaking the silence, "You're going to let them take her to a hospital?"

"It's what she needs, Finn," he explained firmly, "She's not well; this is the third time she's gone off her medication in the last year." Elijah really didn't want to send his mother away to a hospital, but schizophrenia could be a hard thing to manage and a hospital seemed like one of safest places for her. It could help her recover from her relapse.  
A shriek of fear came from their mother's bedroom and all of them visibly flinched. Elijah knew that this couldn't be easy for any of his siblings; it wasn't easy for him. One by one, his siblings departed to another part of the house as the shrieks of fear and protest became more frequent. Elijah was the only one that stayed, waiting.

It took a good fifteen minutes for the paramedics to pull her out of the room. It was obvious that she had been drugged and sagged in the paramedics grip. Guilt crept up behind him as Elijah watched the paramedics load his mother into the back of the ambulance. He pushed the guilt back though and reassured himself that he was doing the right thing.  
After the ambulance had driven away, he turned back to the house and sighed. Sensing that he was being watched, he glanced up. His siblings were all huddled together, glancing out the hall window together. They all had mixed expressions on their faces. Elijah sighed again and headed back into the house. Now he had to decide what he was going to do about his siblings.

**A/N: So this is the first chapter. What do you think; should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: After his mother is institutionalized for going off her medication again, the care of his five younger siblings is placed into Elijah's capable hands. He struggles to balance family with work and hopes his mother will make a quick recovery. But the longer he stays, he begins to notice that his family has changed a great deal since he left for a higher education and this is his one chance to reconnect with them.**

"You're going to stay here with us?" Rebekah asked. She seemed rather shocked at his proposal to stay with them while their mother was recovering in the hospital.  
"Is that a problem, Rebekah," he asked, locking gazes with her. Rebekah shook her head and leaned against the dining room table.

"It's not a problem; it's just that you haven't been here in _ages_. You don't know anything about our schedules. How are you going to have enough time for us and for work?" The others nodded in agreement at Rebekah's question. Elijah had to admit that his sister had a point; balancing work and family would be difficult. But he'd always been good at managing his appointments for work, and he was sure that there'd be a way where he could fit his family around his work. But Rebekah had also brought up the topic of schedules. From what he remembered, when he still lived under this roof, only Rebekah and Kol had extracurricular activities.

But, as Rebekah had put it, it had been ages, and things had probably changed. Elijah was adaptable though and he could accept change. He headed into the kitchen where he spotted what he was looking for immediately. On the refrigerator was a white board that his mother used for important dates. Elijah pulled it off the fridge and brought it back into the dining room. He placed it on the table and grabbed the marker that was attached by a string.

"Okay, so let's sort things out," he suggested, glancing up at his siblings, "Do all of you have after school activities?" All of his siblings nodded except for Niklaus.  
"Alright, Finn, you start; I want days, times and the activity your doing."  
It took perhaps fifteen minutes or so, but Elijah had managed to write down all his siblings' activities on the whiteboard. As he put it back up on the fridge, he couldn't help but notice that nearly every day was filled. He held back a sigh; this might be harder than he expected.

* * *

Dinner, which consisted of Thai takeout, was rather sullen and quiet and he could understand why. As he ate, he noticed that his siblings kept glancing at the head of the table, where an empty chair sat. Before Mikael had left, the head of the table had been his designated spot at the dinner table, but it now belonged to his mother. He knew that they missed her; he missed her too, but the hospital was what she needed. At least, this is what he reassured Henrik when he asked about Esther's well being.

Later that night, he lay awake in his old room, listening to the sounds of the house settling. Ever since sending his mother away to the hospital, tension in his neck and jaw had been present and wouldn't go away. Before coming to bed, he had taken several aspirin, but it didn't seem to help much. He knew that, with his siblings and his work, that the stress was going to build up sooner or later, but he didn't think it would affect him this quickly. He had to remind himself that dealing with five minors and three family dispute cases wasn't any easy task. Elijah thought that a little help would be necessary. Perhaps Alaric would be willing to help him out; they had become good friends when they were in college.

Elijah sighed and rolled onto his side, trying to make himself comfortable. He rolled over onto his stomach and burrowed his head into his pillow. Right now, the best thing to do would be to get some sleep; he had a busy day ahead of him tomorrow.  
Elijah woke up at six thirty that morning in hopes to be awake before his siblings. He dressed quickly in one of his favourite suits and headed down to the kitchen to make some coffee for himself and breakfast for his family. He wasn't the greatest at cooking but he managed to make a decent stack of pancakes. Not long after he had finished preparing breakfast, he heard the thump of feet down the stairs; the warm aroma of the pancakes seemed to rouse his siblings from their slumber.

Henrik was the first one down and when he rounded the corner into the kitchen, his face lit up with a bright smile.  
"Awesome," he stated cheerfully, taking a seat facing the kitchen window. He glanced at Elijah. "I didn't know you could cook."  
"I'm not that much of a chef, but I tried my best not to burn them," he said, smiling slightly.  
"Well, they look good," Henrik exclaimed as he piled several onto his plate and poured syrup over them. Rebekah, Finn and Niklaus came down shortly after and they too were surprised by the presence of breakfast. Kol was the last one to come pounding down the stairs, dressed only in boxer briefs.

"Kol, please put some pants on," he said, "That's inappropriate for the breakfast table." Kol sighed heavily, rolled his eyes and turned on his heel to trudge back up the stairs.  
"Does he always come to the table like that," Elijah asked.  
"It's Kol," Nik said simply, "He likes to be indecent." Once Kol had returned the table, fully clothed, a silence fell over the table. Elijah found the silence rather awkward; he was use to his family being rather vibrant when they were together. The uncomfortable silence was broken by the vibration of his cell phone on the counter.

Getting up from his seat, he picked up his cell phone off the counter, pressed the answer button, and held it in place between his ear and shoulder as he took a sip from his coffee.  
"Hello, Elijah Mikaelson speaking."  
"_Hey, Elijah, it's Alaric. I just wanted to know if you were coming into the office today."_  
"I am coming into the office today, probably around nine. I need you to see if it's possible if I can reschedule my afternoon appointment on Wednesday to Friday."  
_  
"I can try to, but the Lockwood's are awfully obstinate. Why do you need to move the appointment?" _Elijah sighed and poured his coffee, now cold, into the sink, placing the cup into the dishwasher. Wednesday, as Henrik had informed him yesterday, was the night that his Boy Scouts met at the house; Elijah wasn't going to leave a group of thirteen year olds alone to wreak havoc on the house.  
"It's a family matter," he explained. He headed into the living room and gathered up paperwork that he'd been looking at last night after dinner and placed it into his briefcase  
_"A family matter, huh. Well, okay. I'll see if I can reschedule your appointment, but don't expect any guarantees that I'll be able to."  
_  
"Yes, I understand that. I'll see you soon. Goodbye." Elijah hung up and slipped the phone back into his pants pocket. He closed his briefcase and brought it out into the foyer, placing it by the door.  
He walked back into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.  
"When do you have to be at school," he asked, glancing at his watch.

"What time is it now," Kol asked, his mouth full.  
"Eight twenty," he replied.

"Shit," Finn muttered, getting up from his chair, "We should go." They all got up from their chairs, placed their dishes in the sink and grabbed their coats and bags from the hall closet. They all bid him a quick goodbye and headed outside to the 2010 Chevy Silverado parked in the driveway.  
"Bye, Elijah," Henrik said. He wrapped his arms quickly around Elijah before following the others out the door. Elijah smiled; at least some things hadn't changed; Henrik was still the Henrik he knew when he left for college.

Now alone, the silence was unwelcomed. He grabbed his keys for his car, his briefcase and headed out the door. He locked the door and headed down the walkway to his car. As he started the ignition, he could only think about how tiring a two hour drive was going to be to go to and from work.  
It was going to be another long day.

**A/N: Okay, second chapter is finally up. Tell me what you think; I like to hear from viewers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: After his mother is institutionalized for going off her medication again, the care of his five younger siblings is placed into Elijah's capable hands. He struggles to balance family with work and hopes his mother will make a quick recovery. But the longer he stays, he begins to notice that his family has changed a great deal since he left for a higher education and this is his one chance to reconnect with them.**

**A/N: DammitimmaD on your reference to their ages; Elijah is probably twenty three or twenty four. Finn is eighteen, Klaus is seventeen, Kol is sixteen, Rebekah is almost sixteen, and Henrik is thirteen. Hope this clears up any confusion!**

The drive to work was not pleasant. The main road that he traveled along to get to his office was clogged with morning traffic. By the time he got to his office it was a quarter after nine. As he walked into the office, Alaric glanced up from his computer work, a smirk forming on his face.  
"I was wondering when you were going to show," Alaric said, as Elijah shut the door behind him, "You're late by fifteen minutes."  
"I'm aware of that," Elijah replied, shrugging off his coat, hanging it on the coat rack by the door.

"So how's the family," Alaric asked nonchalantly, taking a swig from his coffee mug. Elijah sighed and took and leaned against Alaric's desk. What words could he possible use to describe his family? From what he had seen, in the way he had watched them, they seemed different from what he remembered. He remembered Kol and Niklaus being more vibrant than the others, but now that vibrant personality seemed to fall upon Henrik. Rebekah, he thought, hadn't changed much while Finn seemed to have a more laidback attitude.

"They're…different," Elijah muttered, locking eyes with his friend, "I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."  
"You'll find out soon enough," Alaric stated. Alaric shuffled through the papers on his desk before finding a manila folder.

"So I was able to reschedule your Wednesday appointment to today at ten," Alaric stated proudly, handing the folder to him. Elijah held back an exasperated sigh. He really didn't want to deal with the Lockwood family so early in the morning; they were stubborn and, because it was a custody case, there was a lot of unnecessary yelling. But he couldn't be picky about what cases he took on; money was money.

The session with the Lockwood family lasted longer than their scheduled hour and a half but Elijah couldn't complain; it was on their payroll, and going over their scheduled time gave him extra money. But considering that both parents wanted custody, going to court wasn't going to be pleasant; it rarely was.  
After dealing with the Lockwood family, Elijah and Alaric went out for lunch at a nearby café restaurant. The place wasn't all that large, but it got good business and was busy the majority of the day.  
"So how's your mother doing," Alaric asked before taking a bite out of a sub sandwich.

"I'm not sure; I haven't heard from the hospital, so I assume that's a good thing; no news is good news. But I was thinking of visiting her perhaps this weekend with the others. I know they all miss her and they're worried for her."  
Alaric nodded. "Yeah, I'd be worried too if it was my mother; I'm sorry she had to go through something like that."  
"I am too, but the hospital will help her recover from her relapse. I'm sure the others will want me gone as soon as possible; I'm not exactly considered _fun_." Elijah said.

"What are you talking about," Alaric exclaimed, leaning forward in his chair, "You knew how to party in college."  
Elijah smiled, as he recalled vague memories of his time at college with Alaric. "That was because you got me extremely drunk and incredibly high each time we went to a party." Alaric shrugged innocently, a smile forming on his face.  
"Even if you were drunk you were a lot of fun."

After they had finished their lunch, the two of them returned to their office where a pile of paperwork awaited them. Just eyeing the stack of papers that sat untouched on his desk made him sigh in exasperation; paperwork was always the worst part of the job. But after a long two hours of paperwork and filing, Elijah found himself eager to return home for some relaxation. That eagerness, along with the thought of relaxation, disappeared when he walked through the door and was assaulted by the sound of pop music drifting through the house. He could hear the laughter of teenage girls coming from upstairs and assumed Rebekah brought home some friends. He sighed and placed his briefcase on the dining table; he could feel a headache already coming on. He headed into the kitchen, the room furthest away from the stairs, where he found Henrik, who seemed occupied by homework.

"Where are our brothers," Elijah asked, taking a seat across from Henrik.  
"I'm not sure," he replied concisely. He glanced up from the work he was doing and leaned back in his chair. "Finn has a girlfriend, so they're usually out together. Kol might be home; if he is, then he's probably spying on Rebekah's friends. Nik…I don't really know where Nik is most of the time." This last statement surprised Elijah; Niklaus had always been closer with Henrik than Elijah ever been with him. He wondered what could have happened to cause a gap between the two of them.  
"I thought you and Niklaus were close," Elijah stated, hoping to bring an answer out of Henrik.

"We are," he said reassuringly, "But Nik likes his space, so I let him have it; I don't mind being alone."  
"You don't get lonely," he asked. Henrik shrugged in response.  
"My hobbies don't necessarily involve others," he said casually, "And maybe I'm imagining it, but Nik seems distant lately; I think there's something on his mind that's bothering him."

Once Rebekah's friends had left, Henrik assisted Elijah in preparing dinner and once again, the six of them ate in an uncomfortable silence. After dinner, his siblings departed to do their own things. Elijah retired to his room for the night, where he entertained himself with a novel. Through the walls, he could hear a rhythmic punk music that he assumed was coming from Kol's room, and he could hear a steady thumping sound that belonged to Niklaus pounding on a punching bag. Elijah welcomed the noises of his family; the silence of his condo would seem unsettling now if he returned.

It was a little past eleven when Elijah finally decided to retire to bed. Sleep didn't come easily and for the longest time, he stared at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. But when a quarter after one in the morning rolled around Elijah was still wide awake. He felt uncomfortable in this bed, even though it was his own. It didn't feel right; the layout was different from the room he had at his condo. Perhaps, if he could find the time, he'd rearrange the furniture. Restless, he threw the covers off of him and got to his feet and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Unlike the rest of the house, the kitchen was lit by the moonlight that shone through the kitchen.

He stopped in the entrance of the doorway, allowing his eyes to adjust. Niklaus sat at the kitchen island, slumped in one of the stools.  
"What are you doing up," Elijah asked as he entered the kitchen. Niklaus glanced at him as Elijah took a seat next to him. Klaus smiled tiredly and held up a glass half full of scotch.  
"Midnight drink," he replied, "My insomnia has been very persistent on keeping me awake for the last while. Why are you up?"  
"I'm not quite used to being here after such a long absence; the layout of my room was keeping me awake; nothing felt right."

"I could help you rearrange it," Klaus offered, "I mean, if it would help any."  
"I appreciate it," Elijah replied, "I'll take you up on that offer when I can find time to rearrange the room."  
"Well, when you do, come find me," Klaus replied, taking a sip from his glass of scotch. "You shouldn't be drinking," Elijah said sternly, watching with disapproval as Niklaus knocked back the remaining scotch in the glass. Niklaus placed the empty glass back on the counter and pushed it away.

"There wasn't much left," he said nonchalantly, "So I thought I'd polish it off."  
Elijah took the empty bottle that sat on the counter top and fondled it in his hands.

"Still, there's no reason for you to be drinking; you're not of age."  
"Well, I guess it's a good thing your back here," Klaus said, a tight smile forming on his face, "The cellar where mum kept all the liquor is almost empty; I guess you could say that we've been partying too much."

"Well, don't expect any parties anytime soon," Elijah said, Niklaus smirked and slid off the stool. He clapped Elijah on the shoulder.  
"I'm glad your back, brother," he said firmly. Klaus turned on his heel and left, leaving Elijah alone. He sat in the kitchen for another half hour before deciding to lie down on the sofa. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought, until sleep finally claimed him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: After his mother is institutionalized for going off her medication again, the care of his five younger siblings is placed into Elijah's capable hands. He struggles to balance family with work and hopes his mother will make a quick recovery. But the longer he stays, he begins to notice that his family has changed a great deal since he left for a higher education and this is his one chance to reconnect with them.**

**JamieAnnieCarter- I didn't even plan for Elijah to have a romance in this story, so he will not be getting together with Elena or Katherine. And I do plan on bringing in some of the other characters. Caroline will be appearing soon; I'm a big fan of Klaroline, so eventually Klaus and Caroline will get together. I also plan in bringing Tyler and Matt soon, and maybe Stefan and Damon. Not sure if I'll bring any of TO characters in.**

**evans516- I'm glad you're enjoying my story and I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**Ooshaboosha- I'm glad you're enjoying and hope you continue to read and review.**

Elijah woke to Henrik shaking him awake. His brother stood over him, a coffee mug in his hands.  
"I made some coffee for you," Henrik said, offering the mug out to him. Elijah sat up and took the mug gratefully; he needed caffeine in his system before he could be declared awake. He took a long sip, finishing half of the mug, before placing it on the coffee table.

"Thank you, Henrik; that was just what I needed," he said. As he stood up, he was suddenly aware of how stiff he was. He stretched his limbs, his stiff muscles protesting as he did so.  
"Is everyone else awake," he asked.  
"Finn and Kol are in the kitchen and Nik and Bekah are fighting over the shower," Henrik replied. Elijah couldn't help but smile at how precise Henrik was; it reminded him of himself a bit when he was younger. Since returning to his childhood home, Elijah found it most pleasant to be around Henrik. Then again, he hadn't spent much time around the others; they all went off and did their own things and preferred to ignore him.

He headed up the stairs to his room to get dressed. As Henrik had told him, Rebekah and Niklaus were fighting over the shower, both of them trying to push the other out and slam the door in their face. Elijah found it somewhat amusing; his siblings consistent bickering, however annoying, was laughable; they fought over the most ridiculous things. It seemed to be a natural trait among siblings; although family, they still had their dislikes about each other.  
He dressed quickly and grabbed his briefcase that sat by the door to his room. Heading down the stairs, he saw that Henrik, Finn and Kol were already heading out the door to school, not bothering to wait for Rebekah and Niklaus. Henrik stopped at the threshold of the door and turned back and called to him.

"Don't forget that –"  
"Yes, that your Boy Scouts are coming; I didn't forget," Elijah said. Henrik smiled and bid him goodbye, shutting the door behind him.  
Before leaving for work, Elijah had to get Rebekah and Klaus out the door, neither of which was an easy task. Rebekah had managed to snag the shower first and was taking her sweet time, which left Klaus banging on the door, telling her to hurry up.  
Elijah knocked on the door.

"Rebekah," he called, "Get out; you're going to be late for school."  
"What about me," Nik demanded, "I need to have a shower."  
"Well, you don't have time for that," Elijah said, "You can shower when you get home." He steered his brother towards the stairs. "Get to school."

Once he had managed to clear the house of his siblings, he grabbed his briefcase and car keys and headed out the door to work. Work, as usual, involved a tedious amount of paperwork and several appointments that went longer than when they were scheduled. All in all, it wasn't a very eventful day. Both Elijah and Alaric only had one appointment for the day, the rest of the day involved paperwork. The only thought on his mind that was pestering him was getting home to relieve a headache that had come on during the afternoon. If he was given the chance, he'd relax in his room in silence. He highly doubted that would happen though. His siblings were people with very exuberant personalities and nothing ever stayed quiet at home for long.

* * *

He pulled up in front of the house and as Elijah got out of his car, he suddenly wondered if the house was ever entirely quiet. He hadn't even entered the house and he could already hear music and loud voices that came through open windows. He sighed and reluctantly made his way up the porch steps. When he walked in, the noise reminded him of the college bar just before it got exceptionally rowdy. Kol and Henrik were playing a video game that resulted in the sounds of machine guns and explosions, and he could hear Rebekah's pop music coming from her room. He placed his briefcase by the coat rack and shrugged off his coat. He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples in an attempt to get the muscles to relax. He was going to need to find some aspirin to make it through the night.

Henrik's Boy Scout peers came over at a quarter to six. In total, including Henrik, there were twelve of them. They were relatively quiet compared to his others siblings who were being rowdy upstairs. It wasn't until he heard a huge thump that he went upstairs to see what the hell was going on. As he came to the top of the stairs and glanced down the hall, he could see that Rebekah's door was shut, as was Finn's. Elijah found that the majority of the noise was coming from Kol and Niklaus who were wrestling with one another in Kol's bedroom. Elijah watched momentarily, and, determining that it was a playful battle, returned downstairs.  
Henrik and his fellow scouts were a blessing placed upon him. Elijah thought they would be a hassle, but they were they exact opposite. They all stayed in the kitchen, where they were discussing survival methods in different environments. It gave him a chance to relax instead of supervise; which he thought wasn't strictly necessary.

Once all the Scouts had left, Elijah started to put together a meal. Dinner consisted of a store bought meatloaf and some over cooked vegetables; he really needed to read up on cooking. Like the previous meals he had had with his family, there was a tense silence that hung between the six of them. The lack of conversation at the table was beginning to annoy him. Since none of his siblings were up to starting a conversation, Elijah thought now was the best time to bring up the idea of visiting their mother.

"Would any of you be willing to come with me and visit our mother this weekend," he asked, glancing around the table. His siblings looked at one another, exchanging looks.  
"Isn't she in one of those mental hospitals," Rebekah asked.  
"Psychiatric hospital would be a more preferable term," Elijah stated, "But, why does that matter?" Rebekah shrugged nonchalantly and took a sip of her water.  
"Isn't that were all the crazy people are? Is it safe to go there?"

"They have orderlies there for a reason, Rebekah," Kol explained slowly, as though speaking to a child, "That's why they also have straitjackets and thorazine."  
"Besides, they wouldn't put the violent patients out to wander the halls; they'd probably be locked away," Niklaus added. "It should be perfectly safe."  
"Well, I want to go," Henrik said firmly, "Mum probably needs some cheering up; we should all go and see her." Elijah smiled slightly; Henrik was such a kindred spirit; he wondered how he had become so different from his other brothers.  
"So, are we all going to visit mother," he said, waiting for confirmation. His siblings nodded their affirmation and returned to their dinners. The brief conversation was, again, replaced by silence.

* * *

The weekends were the only days he got to sleep in; he didn't have to go to work. But today, he was up early at six-thirty, preparing breakfast. Once he had started college, he had fallen out of the habit of having breakfast and he thought it'd be a good to get back into it. Elijah had also taken notice to how much his siblings ate; not so much Rebekah, but more so his brothers. He thought that by preparing breakfast it would keep them from snacking constantly throughout the day.

As he had come to quickly discover, Henrik was the early bird of the bunch; he naturally seemed to be a morning person. A quarter after seven, Nik came downstairs followed by Finn fifteen minutes later. Kol and Rebekah were the ones that took pleasure in sleeping in late, and didn't come downstairs until eight thirty.  
The silence that was normally present during meals was broken by Henrik.

"When are we going to see Mum," he asked, as he placed his dishes into the sink. Elijah took a sip from his coffee mug, pondering the question.  
"Whenever all of you are ready," he replied, "Visiting hours don't start until ten and they end at five."  
"Then hurry up," Henrik urged, earning smiles from his siblings. "You're all so slow."  
"We'd have to take two cars, I suppose," Elijah said, more to himself than to anyone else.  
"We can take the minivan," Finn suggested.  
"I wasn't aware that we still owned that," Elijah said, "I thought mother had sold it."

"She nearly did," Finn said, "But Henrik convinced her to keep it. It is, after all, the only vehicle we own that fits all of us." That was certainly true. Elijah recalled a certain summer when they had taken a road trip from their home in Utah to Nevada. At the time, Mikael had still been part of the family. So plainly speaking, the minivan had seated all _eight_ of them perfectly. It was only logical that they kept a vehicle that could fit over six in one sitting.  
After breakfast, his siblings returned upstairs briefly to get dressed. Elijah headed out into the attached garage. When he flicked on the lights, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the beat up minivan; it brought back good memories of when he was a child. His siblings loudly came bounding into the garage.

"I call shotgun," Kol declared loudly, racing for the front passenger seat. Elijah fought the urge to roll his eyes; some things never changed; Kol had been calling shot gun ever since he learned what the saying meant when he was four.  
Elijah walked around to the driver's side while the rest of his siblings got in. Henrik and Niklaus squeezed themselves into the very back, while Rebekah and Finn took seats in the middle. Now, with all six of them in the car, the vehicle felt uncomfortably claustrophobic. The drive to the hospital was a little under an hour; on a weekday the drive would have been longer. Nonetheless, they were all relieved to get out of the vehicle; it had become unbearably stuffy.

As they approached the behemoth of a building, Elijah thought it best to bring up his siblings behaviour. One thing that his siblings managed to do spectacularly well, with or without intention, was embarrass him.  
"While we're in there, I expect all of you to behave; no childish nonsense."

"I feel like you're directing that particularly to me," Kol said, offended. Elijah glanced at Kol and smirked.  
"I _was_ directing at you," he confirmed, "You're inner child is too wild."  
"And your inner child is dead," Kol muttered.  
The inside of the hospital was pristine and nearly everything was a cold grey or an eerie white. Elijah found it somewhat disturbing, but then again, most hospitals looked like this to some extent.

The nurse that sat at the reception desk appeared to be in her early twenties. She smiled politely and turned away from her work as he approached the desk.  
"Can I help you," she asked kindly, the corner of her lips lifting in a slight smile.  
"We're here to see Esther Mikaelson," he said.  
"And you're all family," she asked, clearly surprised.  
"Yes, we are," Kol exclaimed proudly.

She directed them to the elevators and told them to go up to the third floor; that floor was the women's ward. When they got out of the elevator, Elijah couldn't help but notice that the dreariness that he saw in the lobby had carried into the rest of the hospital. The hall was painted a sickly blue color and the linoleum floor was a grungy shade of yellow that had once been white. The patients that loitered around in the hall were dressed in pale blue scrubs, which seemed to drain all color out of them.

They found their mother in the common room, sitting by the window, gazing out the window. Like the other patients they had passed in the hall, Esther wore the same pale blue scrubs and grey slippers. Her long hair was drawn back in a messy braid and dark circles made her eyes appear sunken. He had to admit that his mother looked rather tired.  
Henrik broke away from their group and went running up to her and embraced her tightly. Esther's dull eyes lit up as she held her youngest son in her arms. She kissed him on the cheek, a large smile breaking out onto her face as she saw her other children coming to greet her. She hugged each one of them, ending with Elijah.

"It's so good to see you all," Esther exclaimed, her eyes bright.  
"How are you," Finn asked.  
"Are they treating you well," Rebekah demanded.  
"When are you coming home," Henrik asked. These questions were all asked at the same time, which made Esther smile even more.  
"One at a time," she said gently, "You'll all get your answers."

**A/N: Thank you to all who read and/or reviews on this. I appreciate any constructive criticism that is given. For the next chapter, I'm thinking of switching to someone other than Elijah's view; that way you can see how each sibling is handling life (But this idea is just a maybe).**

P.S.- I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update; I've been busy with school and my other stories. I hope you all enjoy this; don't be afraid to leave reviews.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: After his mother is institutionalized for going off her medication again, the care of his five younger siblings is placed into Elijah's capable hands. He struggles to balance family with work and hopes his mother will make a quick recovery. But the longer he stays, he begins to notice that his family has changed a great deal since he left for a higher education and this is his one chance to reconnect with them.**

**A/N: As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I was thinking about switching POV's, but wasn't sure. But the positive feedback I've been getting at the idea has made me sure and this chapter will be from Klaus' POV  
**  
_Klaus' POV_

"What the fuck," he growled, as he was tackled to the ground. He pushed whoever it was off of him and scrambled to his feet. Klaus had barely gotten to his feet when he saw a fist swing his way. He had no time to dodge; he was too close. He stumbled back a step, clutching his nose, his hand coming away bloody. He glared up at Tyler Lockwood and his lackeys that hovered behind him. He could feel his blood begin to boil with rage. His hands clenched into fists as he restrained himself from lunging at the Lockwood boy.

As much as he wanted to bash in Tyler Lockwood's face he couldn't afford to get in any more trouble. One more detention would result in a week's suspension. He didn't need to have Elijah on his case about his impulsivity; that would only cause more problems than he could handle. Instead of lunging for Tyler, Klaus snatched up his backpack which had been tossed to the ground when Tyler and his friends had jumped him. He glared daggers at them before turning away and trudging his way back to the school; that was the last time he had lunch near the football field.

"Oh, c'mon, Mikaelson," he heard Tyler call, "I was just getting started." He could hear Tyler's friends laugh as Tyler made foul comments towards him. Klaus gritted his teeth as he struggled to control the rage that was coursing through his veins.  
Several people gave him second glances as he marched through the hallway towards the men's room. He slammed open the doors and headed towards the nearest sink, dropping his bag at his feet. Klaus splashed cold water on his face, and rubbed the trail of blood from his face. He could tell his nose wasn't broken, but it hurt like hell.

"Man, what happened to you," a voice asked. Klaus turned around and leaned against the sink. He smiled bitterly as he recognized the boy leaning up against the wall.  
"Why is that every time we meet, Gilbert, you're lurking around in the bathrooms?"  
Although Jeremy couldn't technically be considered a friend, he got along well with the boy. It was more than he could say about the rest of the student body; they didn't give a damn about him. Nobody gave a damn about Jeremy either, which was probably why the two of them hung out sometimes; they were both loners.  
"Came in here to light a joint," Jeremy muttered, "Nobody ever comes in here during lunch."

"Do you mind sharing," he asked, motioning to half-smoked joint in Jeremy's hand. Jeremy shrugged and handed it to him. He rarely got high, but today was one of _those_ days. If he wanted to get through the school day, he needed a little "pick me up".  
"So what happened to your face," Jeremy asked.  
"Lockwood," he growled. He took a long drag from the joint and exhaled slowly.  
"That guy's such a dick," Jeremy muttered. The two smoked in comfortable silence, allowing themselves to enjoy the high. When the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, echoed against the walls of the small room before dying down. Klaus took one more quick drag on the joint before handed it back to Jeremy.

"Thanks, mate," he said.  
"No problem," Jeremy replied curtly, throwing the joint to the ground and crushing it under his feet. Jeremy pulled up his hood to hide his bloodshot eyes and left. Klaus grabbed his bad, left, and made his way towards his locker.  
He was almost at his locker when he was suddenly slammed up against the lockers. Thinking that it was Tyler and his buddies back for more, Klaus prepared for a fight, but paused when he noticed that it was just Finn.

"What the bloody hell, Finn," he growled, shoving his brother away. Finn grabbed his jaw and looked into his eyes, studying them intensely.  
"Are you high," he demanded.  
"As a cloud," Klaus replied, smiling slightly. He could tell by the expression on Finn's face that he was close to getting slapped.  
"You give yourself a bad reputation, Niklaus," Finn growled. "It's no surprise that you haven't amounted to much during your school years." Klaus felt his dimming anger reignite at his brother's words; leave to his own family to knock him down a rung on his esteem ladder.  
"Well sorry I'm not Mr. Perfect like you, Finn," he retorted, "With all your outstanding grades and your basketball scholarship."

"Why don't you do yourself a favor and stop hanging around scum like Jeremy Gilbert." Finn scowled at him once more before turning and heading down the hall. Klaus glared after his brother; he really hated him sometimes.  
He knew that it was wrong to play favourites, but out of all his siblings, Finn was his least favourite. As long as he could remember, Finn had been nothing but a tattle-tale; he enjoyed getting others into trouble, especially his younger siblings. But now that Finn knew he was baked, he'd go and tell Rebekah, and together the two of them would tell Elijah, and then he'd be in hot water for sure.

Klaus decided that it was better if he skipped the rest of the school day; he wouldn't be able to handle one-hundred eighty minutes sitting in a desk. Instead, he collected his things from his locker and headed around to the back of the school where the designated stoner section was. As he had predicted, Klaus saw Jeremy with Vicki Donavan huddled against the wall, sharing a joint. He joined the duo and the three of them passed the joint back and forth between each other until it was dead.  
The rest of his day was an absolute blur; he had no clue how time seemed to fly by. Once the final bell had rung, Klaus went out to the parking lot and headed straight home, hoping to catch a few Zs before dinner. Normally, he would wait for Rebekah to finish cheerleader practice, but it was just too darn tired. He'd get an earful from her later about how he had stranded her at the school.

* * *

Klaus was unable to take a nap when he got home. The noise that constantly seemed to fill the house was just too much. Besides the noise, Henrik had pestered him into playing _Call of Duty_. After dinner, he had immediately retreated to his room in hopes to get some peace and quiet. He had rushed through his meal to get away from the scrapping sounds of cutlery on plates. He drew the blinds over his window and lowered himself into the armchair that sat in the far corner of the room; he was beginning to regret taking a swing at that joint. Unlike Jeremy, Klaus wasn't a pothead, so the high that came with was unusual to him. Even though his high had begun to crash an hour or so ago, he felt extraordinarily tired, as though the high had sucked up all his energy. He flopped face first onto his bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

He woke up with a craving for something sweet. He glanced sleepily at his clock and crawled out of his bed. It may be only one in the morning, but he was really craving some ice cream. Quietly, he padded down the stairs to the kitchen and opened up the freezer.  
"It's a little late for ice cream, isn't it?" Klaus turned around and spotted Elijah hovering in the doorway.  
"It's never too late for ice cream," he replied, "Do you want some?"  
Elijah shrugged and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. "Why not," he said casually. Klaus returned to scooping the ice cream into his bowl.

"So what made you decide you were going to get high today," Elijah asked.  
"You knew I was high-did Finn tell you that?"  
"Yes, and I could smell it on you," Elijah stated plainly.  
"Why didn't you say anything," he asked, slightly confused. Elijah shrugged and took the ice cream scoop from Klaus.  
"I know you're no pothead, Niklaus," he said, "I'm just assuming you needed a quick release of your frustrations; I've been in that position before." He couldn't help but crack a smile; he never imagined Elijah doing any drug of any sort.

"When did you ever smoke pot," he asked, spooning some of the ice cream into his mouth.  
"College," Elijah replied flatly, "Mind you, Alaric was usually the one that got me high against my wishes."  
"Sounds like a cool guy," Klaus said. Elijah smiled slightly, lost in thought.  
"He is," he stated, "I'm sure you'd like him, I plan on inviting him over for dinner one of these days."  
"You should do that," Klaus said. "I'm getting tired of eating in silence every night; it's bloody unnerving."

**A/N: Sorry for such a slow update. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think; I enjoy reading all your comments. I'll try to make the next update faster. Think of this as a belated Christmas gift from me. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**

**Sneak Peek at the next Chapter: This isn't definite, but I will probably write from Rebekah's POV, but it could switch between Elijah and Rebekah. I also plan on bringing in Damon, and Caroline will appear in either this chapter or the one after.**


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